

Panzura CloudFS and CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform are leading competitors in the enterprise file services market, each offering unique advantages. Based on feature capabilities, Panzura seems to have the upper hand with its collaboration strength, while CTERA shines in hybrid deployment and recovery options.
Features: Panzura CloudFS offers a single namespace for streamlined data management, collaboration features for enhanced productivity, and disaster recovery for increased reliability. Its file locking and data compression enhance security and storage use. CTERA is known for its hybrid capabilities, integrating easily with on-premises and cloud environments, along with robust file sharing and backup options. It excels in scalability and data protection for dispersed teams.
Room for Improvement: Panzura CloudFS faces challenges with certain file types like GIS data and complication in transitioning to cloud-based solutions due to reliance on local Active Directory. Additionally, its pricing is considered steep, suggesting a demand for more flexible licensing. CTERA needs enhancements in user interface and simultaneous file editing, with a call for better logging and monitoring. Users also mention that its rapid feature releases could affect production stability.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Panzura CloudFS is noted for deployment ease in public and hybrid clouds, coupled with responsive customer support despite occasional issues. Conversely, CTERA's deployment benefits from hybrid and on-premises flexibility, with effective, proactive support that solves problems efficiently. Panzura's long-term relationships tend to foster friendlier engagements.
Pricing and ROI: Panzura CloudFS is viewed as expensive but adds value through network resilience and productivity enhancements, with suggestions for more incremental licensing. CTERA's pricing is relatively competitive, often considered more affordable than rivals like Nasuni, providing significant ROI due to its total cost of ownership benefits. Regional pricing adjustments for CTERA could improve its market appeal further.
Adding SSD storage to Windows file servers is expensive, and we no longer need to back up those devices.
I am positive that CTERA has helped reduce the total cost of ownership by eliminating the need for manual storage management and reducing storage service processes.
Previously, we had latency issues with syncing up files between offices. Files were not locked, leading to overwrites which cost us literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost time and revenue.
We saw the benefits of Panzura CloudFS immediately because our remote offices were able to share files immediately after the product went live.
Panzura CloudFS saves us a significant amount of time frequently.
They swiftly address concerns and take ownership of the call, providing a very satisfactory support experience.
The quality and speed of support for CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform is some of the best in the industry.
High-priority issues are handled promptly.
The support staff and the number of people they have on staff right now are truly good.
When we have a priority-one issue, we typically receive a call within 20 to 30 minutes.
I would give the support for Panzura CloudFS a ten out of ten because they are responsive and helpful.
If we need to upgrade CPU and memory, we should be able to do that without a license upgrade.
CTERA is a very scalable product, allowing us to grow.
It offers good scalability options, including vertical and outward scalability.
Unlimited users can access the system without issues.
From our original entry with Panzura CloudFS, we have added an additional seven sites, and deploying those additional nodes was very seamless and did not take any effort.
The latest version, 8.0.2, has better ease of decommissioning filers and bringing new ones online.
It has been pretty stable since then.
We had things deployed for years, and we were suddenly getting cloud sync issues that were crashing our sites.
It is very stable and reliable.
I would rate it a nine out of ten for stability.
We have never had their system crash on us.
There were times with file lock issues between filers, causing various anomalies, but with their ongoing development, these issues have improved.
AI and automation features could enhance the platform, such as AI-powered search, predictive storage analytics, and intelligent alerts for proactive monitoring.
The main problem is that if two people are working on the same file, for example, one in the U.S. and one in Israel, they can overwrite each other’s work without any notification.
It would help to have a global single-pane-of-glass view of all my CTERA devices.
When something goes wrong somewhere, there should be a little bit better alerting with issues before they become a big problem.
The GIS data formats, such as a geo database, have been found better kept outside of Panzura CloudFS.
It would have been nice if they had offered them in increments, of 5, 10, 15, or 20 terabytes than having to get a whole chunk of 25 terabytes again for licensing purposes, which is a little costly.
Unlike other solutions that require hardware purchases, CTERA offers software licensing with flexibility across multiple infrastructure providers.
CTERA’s pricing should be more proportional and accessible so that cost is not the factor preventing customers from purchasing.
CTERA's pricing seems to be on par with some of the other players, such as Nasuni and Azure.
It did require us to purchase new hardware, however, that was not overly expensive.
They should consider more attractive pricing for companies of our size.
Overall, it is quite costly compared to NetApp and similar solutions.
As soon as something is written to the device, CTERA copies it to the cloud, where it's versioned with snapshots so we can recover it.
A vital advantage of this platform is its instantaneous recovery capability, allowing seamless access to a secondary gateway if the primary one fails.
It is a three-in-one solution for us. It is a file-sharing platform, an archiving solution, and also a backup solution.
It is very reliable and very quick.
It helps us increase network resilience. We have a primary object library stored in the cloud and have Panzura Mirroring which allows us to place data in a secondary cloud for added resiliency.
There is no degradation of speed because these filers have cached the data, and they are constantly swapping metadata and updating with each other, which is a very attractive method of getting us to use these applications.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform | 12.7% |
| Panzura CloudFS | 14.6% |
| Other | 72.7% |

| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 2 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 2 |
| Large Enterprise | 8 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 2 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 6 |
| Large Enterprise | 3 |
The CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform provides a cloud-native global file system over public and private object storage, revolutionizing the world of hybrid cloud data solutions. Enhanced by a rich data services ecosystem, CTERA enables enterprises to gain full control of their data for optimal edge performance, data insight, and governance. The platform focuses on security, providing features like data encryption, access controls, and ransomware protection. Centralized management tools enable efficient data control and monitoring. The platform is being used to replace legacy NAS and file servers, especially at remote locations, and simplify backup and disaster recovery of file data while providing the flexibility of multi-cloud deployments with infinite scalability. CTERA is at the core of hybrid cloud transformations of some of the world’s largest banks, healthcare organizations, global media groups, and government agencies, in deployments that scale to tens of petabytes.
Panzura CloudFS connects data across a distributed network, offering an efficient solution for file storage and management in a cloud environment.
Designed for businesses needing robust data management, Panzura CloudFS enables seamless access and high availability by providing advanced capabilities for distributed file systems. This technology ensures collaboration and data consistency across multiple locations, optimizing enterprise storage strategies and enhancing data governance and compliance. Effective in reducing latency and operational complexity, it addresses the demands of global enterprises seeking scalable and reliable cloud file services.
What are the key features of Panzura CloudFS?Panzura CloudFS finds applications in sectors such as finance, healthcare, and media, where data integrity and accessibility are critical. Financial institutions benefit from secure and synchronized data access, while healthcare providers utilize it for managing patient data across locations. The media industry leverages its capabilities for collaboration and efficient media file handling worldwide.
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